Template talk:R from misspelling

Removal of "See also"

I have removed the:

==See also== * [[Wikipedia:List of common misspellings]]

from Template:R_from_misspelling because it makes Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:List_of_common_misspellings basically unusable, and doesn't really add any value to those redirects when it appears in them. Noel (talk) 22:37, 7 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thanks. The way MediaWiki read this type of link changed, so it became indeed useless. -- User:Docu

Trip to WP:TFD

• This template was listed on templates for deletion, but there was no consensus to delete. See the log. (archive entry) Courtland 00:51, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Automated correction

While fixing a list of links to redirects that use this template, I noticed a problem that prevents automating the process. It's not always possible to get the best replacement for a misspelling.

For example, the misspelling redirect Castillian language uses this template and redirects to Spanish language, but there's no way for a script to figure out that the replacement should usually be Castilian language.

A possible solution would be to make this template take an optional parameter that indicates the correct spelling. Thus at Castillian language, {{R from misspelling}} would become {{R from misspelling|Castilian language}}. We could leave unchanged the redirects for which the correct spelling and redirect target are identical.

Any comments? Wmahan. 00:41, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Could the corrected spelling parameter be displayed on the redirect page? If so, it makes sense to me. -- Steven Fisher 05:31, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately I don't think that's possible, since MediaWiki doesn't display anything but a message and the link on redirect pages. Wmahan. 06:04, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

This is a horrible idea!

1. By definition, the target page is the correct spelling.
2. So, in the case where it really is a {{R with possibilities}} instead, you have to think. You should not run a bot where you have to examine each link to decide whether the article is talking in context about the spanish language or the castilian variant (or castillian, {{R from alternate spelling}}, not a misspelling, as it corresponds to the spanish spelling).
3. Likewise, X-box is {{R from alternate spelling}}, there are millions of references to that spelling! Including from Amazon in the first Google page! And Schneier on Security!
4. Half the listings have the wrong template, some should be {{R from abbreviation}} (Ph.D → Doctor of Philosophy), {{R from alternate name}}, {{R from alternate spelling}} (Encyclopedia of Islam → Encyclopaedia of Islam, a perfectly legitimate pair of spellings), etc.
5. In summary, these redirects were intended to be looked at by humans, not automatically corrected by a bot.

--William Allen Simpson 05:52, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

C'mon, tell me what you really think! :) I replied at your talk page. In summary, perhaps "automated correction" was a poor choice of words. I agree that all changes should be reviewed by humans, and I think my proposal could help. Wmahan. 06:42, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

This template is going away

Just a note that it appears this template will no longer be used for technical reasons, though the corresponding category can probably remain. See here. Wmahan. 04:58, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I've read the IRC logs and stuff, but is there a solid technical reason to do so? Not because I particularly like this template or anything, it doesn't provide much extra value above a category, but the page you linked to makes a big scare about problems without specifying what most of the problems are. At some websites that would be called FUD. Also, considering that it works like desired now, wouldn't it be better if the current behaviour of the software is made official? Shinobu (talk) 12:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Redirects displayed in different color?

Right now, we only have broken red links and working blue links. It would be helpful to have additional colors, maybe purple (as halfway between red and blue) to indicate a legitimate redirect, and a bright orange for an unwanted redirect from misspelling that should be corrected asap. -- Matthead  Discuß   10:42, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

I think a bot that simply listed existing links to redirects that are to correct misspellings would be better. Changing the color is only going to confuse readers, who outnumber editors by at least a thousand to one. And most editors aren't going to know what the new color means without some sort of mass education program - effort that would be better spent actually fixing the errors themselves, since even if an editor does know what a purple link or an orange link means, he/she may well not be interested in fixing it (or have time to do so). With a list, editors at Wikipedia:WikiProject Redirect, and other interested editors, could simply fix bad links. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 16:31, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

See also

Template:R from incorrect name

I don't have time now to create /doc and then ask for a {{editprotected}} change to the page to use {{documentation}}, but if I did I'd add the above to it. Mark Hurd (talk) 11:00, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

Hidden parameter, and need for conditional text

The template has a parameter (detectable only by viewing the markup, or blindly inserting one), for when the correct spelling is not given by the target. A case of this is

(1) Dsquare

which should Rdr to Dean and Dan Caten but state the correct spelling, probably as Dsquared (the way the NYT spells it, 20:1), or else Dsquared2: e.g. {{R from misspelling|Dsquared}}.
But the text of the accompanying tl assumes (irrespective of the parameter) that what is misspelled is the article's title, not the title of, e.g., an {{R from other name}}, {{R with possibilities}}, or {{R from related word}} Rdr page.
In the case of

(2) Dsquared2

the tag is indeed {{tl:R from other name}}, which says

It is not necessary to replace these redirected links with a piped link.

(and may, BTW, thereby invite assuming all alternative names are equally good; of this i'll say no more). For

(3) Dsquared

i am adding the same tag; for Dsquare (1 above), {{R from misspelling|Dsquared}}.
But the accompanying {{R from misspelling}} tl says

Pages using this link should be updated to link directly to the redirect target, without using a piped link that hides the correct details.

even if the parameter is used; in this case the message implies the misspelling (via mis-hearing) "Dsquare" should be replaced by [[Dean and Dan Caten]], rather than just correcting the spelling (and thus keeping valid the singular verb likely to follow it, and more subtle aspects of the enclosing article, which may be much trickier to correct than grammar is).
That's bad, so i suggest that the accompanying template

1. be supplemented by a typical template /Doc page, which would draw attention to the parameter and demonstrate its usage, and
2. make the rendered text read, when the parameter is used, along these lines:

   Pages using this link should be updated to correct the spelling, thereby continuing to link indirectly to the redirect target, and changing any piping of the link only by correcting the spelling.

I'd rather have support at least as strong as a concurring opinion and a week of assent by silence, before making these changes.
--Jerzy•t 07:36, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

I agree that a /doc should be implemented immediately to document the parameter. I disagree with your suggested change in usage.
--William Allen Simpson (talk) 22:32, 14 July 2009 (UTC)